


Summer Love

by playpretendbetweenthetrees



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Jealous Harry, M/M, Song writing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2015-09-03
Packaged: 2018-04-17 11:09:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4664364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/playpretendbetweenthetrees/pseuds/playpretendbetweenthetrees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis visits his cousin, Liam, in London for the summer. It's definitely a summer he will never forget.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Louis was up late one night studying for his final that would be later that week. It was winter quarter, so after this week of hell he’d be on break. That meant a week of pure bliss: no homework, no studying, no thinking about his studies whatsoever. An entire blissful week of doing absolutely nothing but lying on the couch and binge watching Netflix. His roommate and very best friend, Eleanor, was out cold on the couch with an anthropology book covering her face. Louis chuckled quietly to himself. They’d been friends ever since their first year of middle school when Louis had first moved to the United States from England.

Louis walked over to her, put the textbook on the coffee table, and covered her with a blanket.

“Thank you, Louis,” Eleanor mumbled, still half asleep. He smiled and kissed her forehead. Despite being best friends, they’d always had an intimate relationship so this gesture wasn’t abnormal.

Louis had just sat back down at the table when he heard a quiet ding! come from his laptop. He looked at his open tabs and saw that the Facebook one said Liam Payne has sent you a message. His cousin. They hadn’t really spoken since Louis was twelve and Liam was ten when Louis had moved to the US with his mom, stepdad, and his four half-sisters. Louis had to admit he was a little nervous. It’s not like they had left on bad terms, but it had still been awhile and he wasn’t exactly sure how to act.

Still very nervous, Louis opened the tab and read what Liam wrote:

 

_Hey Lou. It’s been a long time since we’ve talked, and_

_I just wanted to ask how you are. My mum said you’re_

_at university. I wanted to congratulate you. Though I think_

_you’ve been there for a few years now. Better late than_

_never, right? I’ve gotten into university as well._

 

Louis smiled at the computer screen. Liam always rambled on when he got nervous, and even through the message, Louis could tell he was.

 

_Hi Liam. It has been awhile hasn’t it? Yeah this is my_

_third year here. It’s your first year, right? Congrats to_

_you, too! How has it been back in the U.K.? I really miss_

_it. . . ._

 

Louis bit his lip as he waited for a response. The single line that came next almost made him fall out of his chair.

 

_Why don’t you come spend the summer here?_

 

Yeah, him and Liam had been so close when they were little that they were practically joined at the hip, but it’s been nine years; nine very long years. Louis thought that maybe it was his aunt’s doing. Or maybe his mum’s? Whatever it was, Louis set off on his response before he had any more time to dwell on it.

 

And that’s how Louis ended up at LAX staring at the departure times. He was so nervous for reasons he couldn’t even comprehend. It was summer now and Louis had just finished the last of his finals the day before. He and Liam had been catching up more and more since that first Facebook message.

Louis felt a hand slip into his. He’d almost forgotten that Eleanor had come to see him off. He smiled down at her; he was so very grateful that she was in his life. What would he do without her?

“Everything is going to be fine, Lou.” Her words calmed him down a tiny bit, but not enough to make his stomach stop doing somersaults.

“Flight 307 to London, England will begin boarding in ten minutes.” A voiceover came from the speakers.

He looked back at his best friend. Her eyes were shining with the threat of tears. Louis engulfed her in a huge bear hug.

“I’ll be back at the end of summer,” he whispered into her ear. “It won’t be that long, just three short months. You’ll manage without me.”

Louis felt her nod into his chest. He could feel her tears wetting his t-shirt. He rested his chin on the top of her head, letting her finish crying. This would be the longest length of time they had spent apart since they met.

She finally pulled away from him. Her eyes were puffy and red. “Go. You’re going to miss your flight.” She gave him a playful shove and smiled warmly. Louis smiled one last time at his best friend, turned toward the gates, and prayed that this summer would go well.

When he was finally in his seat, he fumbled around in his carry-on bag. He pulled out a slim paperback book that read The Idiot's Guide to British Slang. He really hoped that no one would actually see him reading it. It’d been nine years since he’d been in the U.K. and he didn’t want to seem like a fool in front of Liam. He sighed, opening up the book. Bring on the ten hour flight.

Somewhere around five hours into the flight, Louis fell asleep. He only woke up because the stewardess announced that they would be landing soon. He lazily scratched the back of his neck and closed his eyes, still very sleepy. The time difference was definitely going to have a major effect on him. He glanced down at his watch, mouth dropping in horror. It was five am for him!

“Excuse me,” Louis flagged down one of the stewardesses.

“How may I help you, sir?” Louis reddened at the formality.

“Uh, what time is it here?”

She glanced down at her own watch. “One pm, sir. Will that be all?” Her smile was fake sweet; it reminded Louis of Splenda. It was almost like sugar, but you could still tell it was just a cheap imitation.

“Yes, thank you.” He yawned again. Maybe Liam would know a cure for jet lag.

Louis didn’t have too difficult of a time getting his bags; it was searching for Liam, who said would come pick him up so he wouldn’t have to take a cab, that was the difficult part. He only knew what Liam looked like because of Facebook, but that wasn’t really helping him at the moment. Louis was getting ready to call him when he turned around and saw a sign that read Louis Tomlinson in neat writing on an embarrassingly huge sign. The boy that was holding it was still looking around, resorting to going up on his toes to see over the heads of the enormous crowd.

Louis made his way over to Liam. Liam’s eyes found Louis’s; they crinkled with his smile. Before either knew what had happened, they were wrapped in a tight embrace. It was as if the past nine years were non-existent and they had spent no time apart. All the anxiety Louis had been harboring since LAX melted away. Louis held Liam out at arm’s length. He was no longer the little boy from Louis’s memory. It brought a tear to his eye.

“It’s good to see you, Louis.” Liam finally broke the silence, wiping away a tear that spilled over.

“It’s good to see you, too, Liam.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Well, this is my flat,” Liam said proudly, stepping out of his car. Louis looked at the huge space in awe. It was easily three times the size of his apartment back in California.

“It’s lovely!” Louis marveled. “You don’t live alone, do you?”

Liam smiled. “Of course not! I live with three of my best mates!”

“I can’t wait to meet them.” Louis smiled back, following Liam inside the flat.

They opened the door to find everything in complete and utter chaos. Gray smoke was coming from the kitchen, the smoke alarm blaring. A boy with blonde hair was running around with a panicked look on his face. Another boy with black hair styled perfectly in a quiff was on the phone with – Louis hoped – the police or fire department.

“Liam! Thank god you’re back!” The blonde yelled in such a thick Irish accent that Louis almost had trouble understanding him.

“I was gone for two hours! What did you guys do?!” Liam’s face was more horrified than anything.

“Zayn tried cooking.” He said flatly, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the boy on the phone.

“The fire department will be here in five minutes,” Zayn said shortly, walking past them to the outside.

Liam sighed heavily and followed suit. The fire department came quickly and put out the small fire. They informed Liam that no damage had been done to the property. He thanked them and walked back inside.

“Liam.” Zayn began, but Liam cut him off.

“What were you thinking?! You know you can’t cook to save your sorry arse!” The blond snickered behind Liam. Liam whipped around, ready to scold him. “And you! What were you thinking letting Zayn in the kitchen?!” The blonde looked scared at this point. “And where the hell is Harry? I left him in charge of you two!”

“Oi! Calm down, Dad.” A teasing voice came from the door. Louis looked behind him to find a boy who was almost a whole head taller than him with a mess of curly brown hair and piercing emerald eyes. He smirked at Liam, causing dimples to form.

“These two nearly burned down the flat. Where were you?!” Liam pointed an accusing finger in the direction of the two boys.

“Oh don’t get your knickers in a twist. It hardly looks any different than when I left.” Harry set the grocery bags he was carrying on the counter, slowly taking out each thing. “We wanted to make a special dinner since your cousin was coming today. I’m Harry by the way. Harry Styles.” He whirled around, holding out his hand to Louis.

“Louis.” Louis shook his hand firmly.

“Well, Louis. I hope you like homemade lasagna! Mine is the best!” Harry turned back to the counter to finish unpacking the bags. He set each object done with such care as if they were a delicate flower. Louis couldn’t help staring. His movements were so fluid.

“Yeah. That sounds great actually,” Louis stumbled over his words. “Famished from the plane ride. Food’s shit.” There was something about this curly haired boy that fascinated him. Maybe it was his nonchalance or the charisma that radiated from him. The manner he carried oozed confidence. Louis had to admit he was slightly intimidated.

“Here, I’ll show you to your room.” Liam grabbed one of Louis’s suitcases and headed toward down the hallway. It ended at a T and broke up into two other hallways. It was narrow, but the rooms were really spacious. Definitely more spacious than Louis was used to. “Here’s your room. Mine is just down the hall. Harry’s is next door, and Niall and Zayn live on the other side of me.”

“Niall is the blonde one?” Louis questioned. He set the two suitcases on the bed, looking around, admiring the room. It was simple: a bed, a nightstand, a desk, and a dresser.

Liam laughed. “Yeah, sorry I didn’t introduce you downstairs. Things were a bit . . well.” Liam looked at the floor.

Louis put an arm around Liam’s shoulders, reassuringly. “Don’t sweat it. This is going to be a great summer, okay?”

Liam nodded at him. “Yeah, you’re right. C’mon, Harry really does make the best lasagna."

They all sat around the table; Harry and Liam on one side, Niall and Zayn on the other, and Louis at the head. Louis had tried to protest, but they said he was an honored guest. The lasagna was absolutely wonderful, and so were the salad, garlic bread, fresh strawberry lemonade, and the wine. It’d been awhile since Louis had had any alcohol because he was so busy studying for exams.

“So where do you go to school, Louis,” Niall asked in his thick accent.

“It’s a university in California. I really like it there. Beautiful campus, wonderful professors.” Louis was used to this question. Even after three years at university, people still felt compelled to ask him about school so his response just rolled off his tongue without missing a beat.

“Anyone special back in California?” Harry winked at him.

Louis almost spit out his wine. “Oh, well, relationships aren’t exactly my thing. Too busy with my studies and all.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before the wine could drip to his shirt.  

Harry smirked over his water before taking a sip. “No one at all?”

“Well, I mean there’s Eleanor, but she’s my best friend. Strictly platonic. Not even into girls anyway.” Louis shrugged it off. Coming out wasn’t new to him, and he certainly wasn’t ashamed of his sexuality, but saying those words in front of Harry made his stomach flip.

“So what’s your type then?” Harry sipped his lemonade nonchalantly as if what Louis had said didn’t even phase him. No one else seemed to be taken aback by the comment either which calmed Louis’s nerves a bit.

“Just someone I can have fun with.” Louis replied, taking another sip of his wine, but this time with confidence.

“Hey so we have some karaoke to take care of tonight.” Liam announced, noticing a lull in the conversation.

The other boys cheered in delight. Louis looked at the other boys with confusion plain on his face.

“Don’t worry. Karaoke is actually a code word,” Liam said, putting a reassuring arm on Louis’s shoulder.

“For what exactly?” Louis looked at him apprehensively.

“Oh you’ll see!” Niall exclaimed, enthusiastically.

 

Louis still had no idea what Liam meant by “karaoke” as Liam drove down one street after another. Either way, he didn’t question it as he crammed into Liam’s car with the three other boys.

“So what’s on the setlist for tonight?” Zayn asked from the back seat.

“I was thinking Perfect Two and In Love With a Girl,” Liam replied, glancing in the rearview mirror. “Oh and Mr. Manning requested Two Is Better Than One.”

Louis was still in a stunned silence. He had absolutely no idea what was going on.

“Yay!” Niall jumped up and down in his seat. “No break-ups tonight! I hate when we have to do those. Are they all wedding proposals? Those always go over so well, and the last time we did a breakup, I had a shoe thrown at me head.” Niall’s words stumbled out of his mouth in one breath.

Zayn, Harry, and Liam laughed loudly at the Irish boy. Louis smiled and ducked his head.

“How could we possibly forget when you bring it up all the time,” Zayn remarked, ruffling Niall’s hair.

“Oi! You’re going to mess up me hair! And I still fear for my life.”

Louis leaned toward Liam and whispered, “Liam, what’s going on?”

“Not to worry my dear Louis! All will be revealed in good time,” Niall popped his head between Louis and Liam.

Liam pulled into a rather large parking complex. The boys got out of the car and headed to the stairs. Louis peered over the ledge. Down below was a small stage complete with a drum set, guitar, bass, and microphones. His imagination took over, slowly beginning to realize where this was going.

Louis tried to ignore the stares people were giving him as he moved through the crowd behind the four other boys. There were people that were conversing in hushed whispers. Louis couldn’t make out everything they were saying, but he distinctly heard “that’s them” and “no way! I can’t believe they’re here.” The excited whispers produced an audible buzz.

Louis stayed in the crowd, right in front of the stage, while the others climbed up. Harry winked down at him as he settled onto his stool. Louis’ stomach did an involuntary flip.

“We hope you say yes, Anna,” Liam announced into the microphone winking to no one in particular. Louis huffed out a laugh. These boys and their winking.

The sound of an acoustic guitar filled the air. Louis scanned the stage; Niall seemed lost in his own world as he strummed the strings.

Liam took the microphone from the stand and brought it up to his lips. “ _I can be the peanut butter to your jelly_ ,” he began singing. Louis was taken aback by the sound of his cousin’s voice. It was so pure and pleasing to the ear. He sang a few more lines. The girls in the crowd were going crazy at this point. If he didn’t know any better, he might’ve thought that they were international pop stars instead of regular street-performers.

Zayn picked up the next few lines; his voice was just as flawless, “ _I can be the hero and you can be the sidekick. I can be the tear you cry if we ever split_.”

Louis was beginning to understand the screaming girls. They sounded really, really amazing. He was so entranced. Their voices entwined into each other so create a god-like harmony.

“ _I don’t know if I could ever be without you ‘cause girl you complete me_ ,” the four boys sang together. The way they harmonized gave Louis chills. “ _In time I know that we’ll both see that we’re all you need_.”

Niall looked up from his guitar, smirking to the crowd of screaming girls below. “ _I can be the prince and you can be my princess. I can be the sweet tooth, you can be the dentist_.” Louis missed the next few lines  because he was distracted by a guy that was leading a girl by the hand into the small open space between the crowd and the stage.

“ _I can be the vodka, and you can be the chaser. I can be the pencil, and you can be the paper. You can be as cold as the winter weather, but I don’t care as long as we’re together_ ,” Harry sang. Louis was completely overwhelmed by this point. Harry’s voice was raspy, and sort of sultry. It captivated everyone in the crowd.

The boys went into the chorus again. The guy that had gone in front a few seconds ago was now down on one knee, holding out a ring to the woman. She was in complete shock: hands over her mouth, eyes bugging out in astonishment. It wasn’t until the last few lines of the song that she was able to move at all. Just one little nod and the crowd went wild. They were all screaming encore, including the woman who had just gotten engaged.

Liam nodded at Niall who strummed the strings of the guitar, a completely different tune. Louis knew right away that it was Katy Perry’s Firework. Louis swore he could see fireworks while they performed. They were all so in tune with each other as if they had been doing this all their lives.

Louis couldn’t form any words that sounded like English when they finally finished. He felt as star struck as the crowd of screaming girls around him.

“Let’s get back to the car! We have another soon,” Liam yelled into Louis’s ear, when he jumped off the stage.

“You guys were really amazing!” Louis finally managed to choke out as they got back to the car.

“Would you like to sing with us sometime?” Harry leaned forward to look Louis in the eyes.

“Ha thanks, but I can’t sing!” Louis waved his arms in front of him.

“I can teach you.” Harry grin. It was so genuine that it left Louis speechless.

Louis instantly became very self-conscious. “Uh yeah sure why not?”

Harry climbed into the backseat, a small smile playing on his lips. Louis vaguely wondered what they would taste like or if they were as soft as they looked. He shook his head to snap out of it and slid into the front seat.

A few minutes later, Liam pulled up to a park that was small, yet enchanting. Someone had wrapped all the trees lining the main path with white Christmas lights. There was a small pond a little ways off. Louis could see the moon’s reflection ripple in the water. In the distance, there was a couple slowly making their way around the park.

The other boys hid behind the trees in the shadows – Niall with his acoustic guitar – while Louis sat down on a nearby bench. He figured he wouldn’t be suspicious since no one would recognize him.

Sure enough, when the couple got closer, Niall came into the light, playing his guitar. Zayn emerged next singing, “ _I remember what you wore on the first day. You came into my life and I thought hey, you know this could be something._ ”

Liam appeared from the opposite side singing, “ _’Cause everything you do and words you say. You know that it all takes my breath away, and now I’m left with nothing_.”

Louis closed his eyes and began humming along with them. He recognized the song as “Two Is Better Than One” by Boys Like Girls.

Harry moved from behind the trees, singing the chorus with the other four. Louis kept his eyes closed, listening to their harmonies. It was as if Apollo himself had blessed each boy with the musical talent of the god. When he opened his eyes again, the guy was down on one knee with a small velvet box held up to the girl. She was speechless, much like the other girl. Louis smiled. He knew just how special wedding proposals were; he’d helped his step-dad propose to his mum a few years ago. She wouldn’t stop crying. Tears welled up in his eyes at the memory. It was such a special day for her. She still talked about it from time to time.

“ _I remember every look upon your face, the way you roll your eyes, the way you taste. You make it hard for breathing_ ,” Harry sang, closing his eyes. Louis studied the boy’s body language. He looked as if he was really feeling the music instead of just singing it. It was apart of his soul. “ _’Cause when I close my eyes and drift away I think of you and everything’s okay. I’m finally now believing_.” He drifted off into the chorus.

The woman had said yes by this point. Now she was hugging the guy tightly, crying from happiness.

“ _I remember what you wore on the first day. You came into my life and I thought, hey_ ,” Niall sang over the sound of his guitar.

“ _So maybe it’s true that I can’t live without you_ ,” Liam sang in a higher pitch.

“ _And maybe two is better than one_ ,” Zayn chimed in with Liam.

“ _There’s so much time to figure out the rest of my life_ ,” Harry joined the other two.

“ _And you’ve already got me coming undone_ ,” Niall sang.

“And I’m thinking, oooh, I can’t live without you. ‘Cause, baby, two is better than one. There’s so much time to figure out the rest of my life, but I’ll figure out when all that’s said and done. Two is better than one,” Zayn soloed, pausing for just a second, “two is better than one.”

The woman pulled away from her now financé, wiping tears from her eyes. “Thank you” she mouthed. Each boy gave her a hug, congratulating her in turn.

Louis stood up, waiting for the others. They said goodbye to the couple and walked back toward the car.

“Did you know her?” Louis asked.

“She was mine and Liam’s nursery school teacher,” Zayn answered with a smile.

Louis nodded in understanding.

“Hey! We have some time before our next gig. Why don’t we go get some milkshakes?” Harry suggested excitedly, putting an arm around Louis’ shoulders.

“That’s a great idea!” Niall exclaimed clambering into Liam’s vehicle. “I’m always up for food!"

They drove around awhile until they found a cute, little diner that Niall kept insisting on. They were sitting at their table, waiting for their milkshakes when Louis turned his attention away from the football match they were watching, “So how did you guys meet? Like how did your group become a thing with the whole singing and all?”

“Well, we met at university. We all had the same literature class, we were studying together one night, Niall started humming, and we all just kinda started singing,” Liam explained.

“Then we would randomly start singing in public and people would hire us to sing for different events and such,” Zayn chimed in.

“Yeah we’ve done birthdays, weddings, proposals, we’ve even been asked to do some break-ups,” Niall said as he pointed his straw at Louis. “Now let me tell you, those were horrible and I don’t know why we agreed to do them.”

“Because we needed the money that’s why!” Harry smacked Niall playfully on the back of the head. They all laughed.

“Ha, right,” Niall muttered while rubbing the back of his head.

Louis just smiled into his milkshake. The way these four boys interacted made Louis wish he’d been able to stay in London. If he had, maybe he’d be able to hang out with them all the time and become as close as they have. It’s not that he didn’t love his life in the US, but he had always felt as if something was missing.

“So you said In Love With a Girl for the next one, right? Do you mean the song by Gavin Degraw?” Louis asked before taking another sip of his milkshake.

“You know Gavin Degraw?” Harry countered, eyebrows raised.

Louis huffed out a laugh. “I haven’t been living under a rock or anything. Of course I know who Gavin Degraw is. Listened to him loads while I was in high school.”

Harry smirked.

“Did I say something funny?” It was Louis’s turn to raise his eyebrows.

“Not particularly.” Harry’s smirk travelled to his eyes. The mischievous glint made Louis want to wipe the smirk off his face, preferably with a kiss. Louis quickly pushed those thoughts away.

“We should probably go soon,” Liam remarked, looking at his watch.

The last performance went off without a hitch; another successful proposal.

All the boys, including Louis, were still high on the adrenaline as they stumbled through the door of the flat. They also may or may not have gone to get a few pints afterward.

Liam, the self-proclaimed designated driver, waved to everyone and said his goodnights. Zayn mentioned he was tired as well and disappeared down the hallway. Niall, who had more to drink than the rest of them, was passed out on the couch, dead to the world.

Louis was about to say goodnight to Harry when he cut Louis off.

“Would you actually like to join us sometime? Singing that is. Not just sitting there on the sidelines. I was serious about helping you earlier. I think it’d be fun.” Louis could hardly concentrate with the way Harry was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He looked like a model straight out of a magazine.

Louis tore his eyes away from Harry’s arms. “I don’t really sing.”

“You already said that, and I already offered to give you lessons. I’m not one to back out of my promises.”

Louis felt his face flush. “I really should be going to bed. It’s been a long day, and jetlag and all.”

“Goodnight, Louis.”

Louis didn’t need to turn around; he could hear the smirk in Harry’s goodnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! More to come. I'm currently finalizing the timeline for everything so I hope to get up another chapter soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this. I hoped you liked it. I'm going to try to post at least once a week, but let's see how that goes.


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